What is the meaning of "us" in God's question in Genesis 1:26 and 3:22?

Question

The New Living Translation of the Bible is very nice to read, because it is easy to digest for the most part. I am confused though by the text in two passages, Genesis 1:26 and 3:22.

God refers to himself as "us." Here are the verses:

Genesis 1:26: Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

Genesis 3:22: Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings[a] have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!”

Answer 1

I have read those passages fairly recently as well. I'd like to preface my answer by saying that in no way am I an authority on this kind of stuff, but I took it to mean either God and the angels, or a reference the the Trinity nature of God. Especially in 3:22, He says that humans "have become like us," meaning that they have gained the divine ability to distinguish good and evil. It seems like the us is directly referring to a collective pseudo "divinity club," that God, the angels, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus are a part of.

You might want to also think about the story of when Jacob wrestles with the angel in Genesis 32:28. The angel there says that Jacob has "struggled with God" which implies that angels are considered part of God as well.

Answer 2

Just another inconsistency that you will discover.

Elohim, from the hebrew, means "Crowd of Gods"

Answer 3

Us is refering to Father, son and Holy Spirit.